A restless, wild kind of energy was coming off of Ardal as she stood before him.He swallowed, wishing she'd just tell him whatever was wrong.“I need something to do,” she said.There was a sharp pain over her face that made him nervous.“Okay, you can make the java for us,” he said, attempting to put some cheer in his voice. He pointed to the corner of the counter where the machine and beans were waiting.She hesitated. “That’s a lot fancier than my Mr. Coffee auto-drip.””It looks more intimidating than it is,” he smiled.Bad idea.She fooled around with it, and he attempted to direct her on how to use it while he threw the bacon on the griddle and chopped up the vegetables, but she quickly grew frustrated.He had to jump in to the rescue, and then she ran over to flip the bacon before it burned, a smile of victory on her face for effectively booting him from the stove

Kadeem’s arms envelop me while I sob into him. "I'm sorry," he says, more than once.His voice is full of pain - my pain.Because that’s how this works. With this stupid marking, he’s trapped us together as mates. Before, he read me like a book.Now, that connection we shared has been dialed up to a screeching, supernatural high. He can feel my emotions and he’ll be able to sense my presence when we’re miles apart.I break loose out of his embrace, trying to keep myself c

Kadeem was closing up the gym for the night when a figure sauntered out of the shadows from the alley.Riley. She was clad in a black leather jacket. Her dark curls bounced as she walked. Her expression: smug.“Hey,” he said, nodding to his Beta."Admit that I'm Sherlock," she said immediately.Kadeem yanked the keys from the lock and pocketed them. "What?""No way am I Watson,” she said, twir

Kadeem applauded tepidly for Rayburn while Riley and the bar patrons cheered like he was their Karaoke god. He settled back on his lone bar stool, beaming from the high.They kept watch on Rayburn while they took in song after song, and the already crammed bar continued to fill up with people.Riley leaned in close to Kadeem's ear near the end of a young woman's failed attempt at Taylor Swift."I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Mateo was here. I really think we could get him up there to sing."

My body awakens to his presence - Kadeem's energy radiating from the cover of darkness. Everything stops in its tracks, including my own heartbeat, which seems to catch in my throat. Then it pounds like mustang hooves giving chase, clopping hard against the prairie dirt.The shadows between the trees come alive as two sets of eyes glint in the moonlight. Jack rustles anxiously next to me and the wolves step out into the clearing, morphing into their human forms while they walk toward us. A small sigh escapes Jack's lips and he looks up to the stars, as if to question the gods, or breathe a wordless prayer for his imminent misfortune.My mind scrambles for any sort of explanation that would make this encounter less damning, but I'm coming up on empty, and suck in a breath."Sorry," Kadeem says smoothly. "Did we interrupt?" His tone is falsely upbeat. Anger simmers beneath his calm exterior. It’s crackling dangerously inside him, like a live wire, warning me not to push him.It's a warn